EFCC arrest ex-aviation minister's brother over N8 billion fraud | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Abubakar Ahmad Sirika, the younger brother of former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, on suspicion of corruption. The arrest, which took place on Sunday, February, is linked to an ongoing investigation into the awarding of aviation ministry contracts. EFCC alleges that while Hadi Sirika served as minister, he conspired to abuse his office and divert public funds totaling N8,069,176,864. This allegedly occurred through four aviation contracts awarded to Engirios Nigeria Limited, a company owned by his younger brother. Abubakar is currently in EFCC custody, reportedly providing information about the financial activities of the aviation ministry under his brother’s tenure, the source added.
Source:The Guardian
February 06, 2024 13:57 UTC
Obasanjo, Saraki seek stronger Angola-Nigeria trade ties
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki have advocated stronger trade ties between Nigeria and Angola, emphasising the need for an improved economic partnership between the two Africa leading oil producers. The former President emphasised the necessity for a significant boost in trade ties between the two nations, highlighting the inadequacy of the existing relationship. The session, aimed at fostering collaboration, focused on unlocking the untapped potential for economic cooperation between Nigeria and Angola. Obasanjo said, “Sadly, there is no Foreign Direct Investment between Nigeria and Angola. Speaking on the efforts to address trade barriers and streamline visa processes, the President of the Angola-Nigeria Business Council, Fifi Ejindu, called for a positive step toward fostering smoother trade ties between Nigeria and Angola.
Source:Punch
February 06, 2024 13:10 UTC
NNPCL, US govt, Deloitte collaborate on greenhouse gas emission reduction
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is working in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Energy Resources (DOS-ENR) under the Energy and Mineral Governance Program (EMGP) and Deloitte, as the implementing partner to meet its net-zero carbon goals by embarking on a project aimed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through methane abatement plans and strategies consistent with international leading practices. The pilot project which is at its conceptual stage was the focus of a three-day Technical Assistance on Oil & Gas Sector Global Methane Abatement and Decarbonisation Workshop which kicked off at the PTDF Tower, in Abuja, on Monday. According to the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi O. Soneye, the workshop, which was a follow-up on the July 2023 capacity building training on Methane Baselining and Organisational Design and the Development of a Methane Technology Evaluation Framework, was aimed at defining the critical success elements for the Methane Abatement Pilot Project Implementation, Scaling and Financing. He said: “Participants at the workshop unanimously selected OML 34 located onshore in Western Niger Delta which has the Utorogu and Ughelli Fields as the operation site for the pilot stage of the project. “Participants were drawn from relevant NNPC Ltd.’s subsidiaries and Departments such as Exploration & Production; New Energy; Gas Infrastructure; Health, Safety, and Environment, as well as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and Federal Government agencies like the National Council on Climate Change.”The project technical training is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources’ Energy and Mineral Governance Programme (EMGP).
Source:Nigerian Tribune
February 06, 2024 12:33 UTC
Naira in transition, not jinxed
A renowned economist, Bismarck Rewane, on Monday, declared that the country’s official currency is undergoing transition and not cursed as being speculated in some quarters. While admitting that tough days lie ahead for Nigerians, Rewane said the free fall of the naira is not a problem that cannot be solved by one silver bullet. He said, “No, I don’t think the naira is jinxed. It is just a currency in transition. But the point is that you have to look at it in the context of the currency in transition to weigh its fair value.
Source:Punch
February 06, 2024 11:25 UTC
Nigeria and a future without oil | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News
For several years, Nigeria has over relied on the prospects of crude oil, as a major source of export and government revenue. Currently, crude oil accounts for 80 per cent of Nigeria’s export, a significant proportion of our foreign exchange earnings and government revenue. The 2024 budget estimates that the oil sector will contribute 42 per cent to government revenue. The government must discourage single-use plastics; it is estimated that Nigeria generates 2.5 million metric tons of plastic waste annually. The big-elephant in the room I reckon is the conversation on financing, Nigeria Energy Transition office, estimates that Nigeria requires $1.9trillion in investment to meet the net-zero target by 2060, which would require a minimum $10bn annually.
Source:The Guardian
February 06, 2024 09:50 UTC
Accessing Green Finance: Hurdles facing African farmers —Sandeep
Green financing is the financing of projects or companies that are now trying to reduce carbon emission using alternate sources of energy. Green financing is specifically an initiative to combat climate change. The bottom line is that green financing is money or resources that will be provided for initiatives to combat climate change. How far do you think Africa can go to mitigate the effect of climate change using the Green Finance? Africa suffers the most, farmers and businesses are not well equipped to tap into green financing to make their production sustainable.
Source:Nigerian Tribune
February 06, 2024 08:57 UTC
Bonds Fall After ‘One-Two Punch’ of ISM, Fedspeak: Markets Wrap
The news jolted trading on a day when investors were already digesting cautious views from some Fed speakers including Jerome Powell. The “one-two punch” prevented market players from achieving further upside, according to Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers. Fed swaps almost wiped out the odds of a March rate move, and the chances of a May cut have also been reduced. Story continuesTo Thierry Wizman at Macquarie, the shift in the market’s assessment of when the Fed will begin to cut rates seems valid. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Source:Punch
February 06, 2024 00:41 UTC
PACKING A PUNCH – Tata Punch to Kolukkumalai trail
Unlike most off-road trails that start off easy and build in severity, the ordeal of Kolukkumalai begins at the very start. On the plus side though the compact dimensions of the Punch are proving to be extremely handy. And the most important contributing factor to the Punch making slow but steady progress up the trail is the 187mm of ground clearance. Over and over again we brace for that painful thadum of the Punch grounding itself over a boulder but it doesn’t come. It’s hard not to use the word amazing to describe what the Punch is doing because this trail is amazingly hard.
Source:Punch
February 05, 2024 21:47 UTC
Taylor Swift wins fourth Best Album Award at Grammys
American Singer, Taylor Swift made history at the 66th Grammy Awards on Sunday. Taylor became the first performer to win the prize for Album of the Year four times. The superstar had previously received three Best Album Awards with Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Frank Sinatra. Taylor was presented with the award by Celine Dion, who made a surprise appearance despite health concerns. She says finishing a song or preparing for a show makes her equally happy as this moment.
Source:Nigerian Tribune
February 05, 2024 21:16 UTC
Over 50% certificates of imported pharmaceutical products fake
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said more than 50 per cent of certificates of pharmaceutical products that are imported into Nigeria are fake. The certificate of a pharmaceutical product is issued in the format recommended by the World Health Organisation, and it establishes the status of the pharmaceutical product and the applicant for the certificate in the exporting country. She said that substandard and falsified products threaten access to safe efficacious and affordable medicines, and undermine the achievement of universal health coverage in Nigeria, and Africa. According to her, the prevalence of substandard and falsified medicines in the region is due to limited regulation processes. What leads to maturity level three is market control, and that is one of the nine models of maturity level three, so we have a lot of work to do in Africa.
Source:Punch
February 05, 2024 20:54 UTC
CBN’s 7 action plan to help revive Nigeria’s economy – Cardoso
The governor of Central Bank Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has highlighted some action plans the apex bank wants to embark on in order to help boost the economy. Cardoso highlighted some of the plans in his first-ever exclusive interview as CBN governor and which was done by Arise Business anchor, Boason Omofaye, on Monday, February 5, 2024. – Cardoso revealed that the CBN is currently planning strategies to revamp the Bureau de Change segment. He said this is imperative for enhanced efficiency and aims to streamline their numbers for better management as well as supervision. These measures address the foreign exchange market’s liquidity challenges, streamline capital flows and mitigate currency risks.
Source:The Guardian
February 05, 2024 17:28 UTC
Sunday fire destroys planks worth millions of naira in Lagos market
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed this in a statement. “At 16:20hrs, the agency received a distress call via its toll-free emergency numbers and activated the LASEMA response plans. ADVERTISEMENT“The Igando zone responded accordingly with LASEMA Response Unit responding from the agency’s hub at Cappa Base. Oke-Osanyintolu added that the cable ignited immediately, erupting into an inferno that spread to the entire market area. He noted that several shops yet unknown were affected with goods worth millions of naira.
Source:The Guardian
February 05, 2024 16:48 UTC
PUNCH STATEMENT Re: February 3, Saturday PUNCH CBN story
On February 3, 2024, Saturday PUNCH published a story titled ‘Operation rescue the naira: FG considers converting $30BN domiciliary deposits to Naira’. PUNCH made spirited efforts to get the CBN to react to the story, but the spokesperson was unreachable. Expectedly both the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank took strong exception to the story. The bank issued a rejoinder which PUNCH has since published. Our journalist spoke to a senior government official and PUNCH published a story that is based on their discussion.
Source:Punch
February 05, 2024 16:05 UTC
Presidential monologue (4)
This piece is devoted to the memory of a great African revolutionary, Major Boakye Djan. Djan came into fame at a time the Ghanaians were immersed in poverty, and hopelessness, and were a laughing stock in West Africa. He moved on to Kings College, University of London, to research ‘Ghana at War in the Second World War’ as a doctoral programme. Djan, a former journalist with the Ghanaian Times, before he enlisted in the Ghanaian Armed Forces, was a bibliophile. We exchanged visits in Nigeria and Ghana after he was given amnesty by the government of John Kufuor.
Source:The Guardian
February 05, 2024 15:47 UTC
FCCPC to go after loan apps violating digital lending act
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has noted a surge in violations of the existing digital lending framework in the country. The commission is determined to pursue Loan App companies leading these violations due to desperation. It added that in the coming days, “the commission will be engaging approved loan apps regarding a more robust compliance framework, including any additional requirements where applicable, and possible mechanisms for otherwise blacklisted apps. “The Commission will welcome demonstrated and timely compliance by all legitimate operators to promote and enhance fairness to consumers and fairness among competitors. “The Commission reiterates its commitment to ensuring legal and ethical operations in digital lending and encourages consumers to consider/patronize only approved DMLs (list available at www.fccpc.gov.ng).”
Source:Nigerian Tribune
February 05, 2024 14:38 UTC